Newsroom

The Great Port Washington Business Improvement District hosted an awards ceremony at the Port Washington Library to honor winner of the BID’s 2011 Shop Port Student Holiday Essay Contest. Senator Martins congratulated each of the winners and presented them with a certificate.Winners included:

The New York State Mandate Relief Council will be meeting on Friday, February 10 in the student union multi-purpose room of SUNY Old Westbury at 10 a.m. to discuss mandate relief. The council was formed through legislation passed last year and held its first meeting in January.

Senator Jack M. Martins was the guest speaker at a recent meeting of the Floral Park Chamber of Commerce. Senator Martins spoke to the members of the chamber and then answered questions about issues in the community and the state legislature's goals for the new year. Senator Martins thanked the chamber for allowing him the opportunity to speak with them.

The New York State Senate passed a bill that would ban certain criminal offenders from working on school buses (S.6157A). The bill prohibits people who are convicted of offenses, such as sex and drug crimes, from being school bus monitors.

The bill also bans anyone convicted under Leandra’s Law from being a school bus driver for five years after conviction. Leandra’s Law makes it a felony to drive drunk with others in the car who are under 16 years old.

“This is another measure we can take to make sure our children are safer on their way to school and on their way home. Anyone who would jeopardize a child’s safety should not be on a school bus,” said Senator Jack M. Martins, who supported the bill.

Senator Jack M. Martins hosted his Dr. Martin Luther King Awards for Elmont youth in a standing room only ceremony at the First Church of God in Elmont. The awards presentation highlighted area youth from Elmont and North Valley Stream for their leadership, commitment to social justice, volunteerism, scholarship and community service. The awards presentation hosted nearly two hundred members of the community made up of family and friends of the honorees.

Senator Jack M. Martins brought his “Pizza and Politics” program to Westbury High School, where he met with members of the student council to discuss issues that affect the student body as well as current issues that are important in New York State.

The “Pizza and Politics” program was started by Senator Martins as a way to make government accessible to the students. The students council members are able to discuss political issues with the Senator over pizza, supplied by Senator Martins.

Senator Jack M. Martins was a guest speaker at a recent meeting of the Manhasset Men’s Luncheon Club at the Congregational Church of Manhasset. Senator Martins spoke about the executive budget proposed by the Governor and the need to continue to pass budgets in the state without raising any taxes or fees. Senator Martins also spoke about the current pension system and how local governments and school districts are burdened with having to fund the pension system during difficult economic times. Senator Martins explained that current employees’ pensions are protected by the New York State Constitution. However, going forward, he supports Governor Cuomo’s proposal for a Tier VI, which includes an option for a defined benefit plan, as well as a higher contribution rate.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo traveled to Molloy College to outline his 2012-13 Executive Budget and Reform Plan, which expands on the historic reforms enacted last year to continue building a New New York. As a result of the tough decisions and bipartisan cooperation of the past year, the State is able to close the current deficit without broad cuts, new taxes, fees or gimmicks. In addition, the Governor's Executive Budget proposes major reforms to reduce the cost of government for taxpayers, implements accountability in our schools to put students first, and puts the State in a position to leverage billions of dollars in private sector investment to grow the economy and create jobs.

Senator Jack M. Martins presented the ‘How a Bill Becomes a Law’ program to an assembly at the Floral Park-Bellerose School. Senator Martins discussed the process of how a bill starts with an idea and then how it progresses until it makes it onto the Governor’s desk in Albany.

During the assembly, Senator Martins told the students bills begin with an idea that originates in the community. It is then introduced in the State Senate. From there, it is discussed in a committee made up of lawmakers and then, if it passes the committee, it is voted on by the entire Senate. If it passes, the bill goes to the State Assembly. If the Assembly passes it, it will then arrive on the desk of the Governor, who can either sign it or veto it.

State Senator Jack Martins went to lunch at Elmont's newest restaurant on Dutch Broadway called "LENA" Dominican Restaurant. The restaurant was opened by Elmont Memorial and Dutch Broadway School graduate Edwin Fernandez and his wife Mercedes. The restaurant serves Dominican and American cuisine and is open seven days a week. The restaurant is located in the "Ryans" store shopping plaza across the street from Dutch Broadway School. Senator Martins was given a tour of the restaurant and enjoyed lunch with the owners. "I want to wish Edwin and Mercedes the best of luck with "LENA" Restaurant. t's so great to see our young people coming back to the community and striving for their dreams. I was happy to support them and will be dropping by for lunch again," said Senator Martins.

Not long after the State Senate passed a bill to improve oversight of LIPA, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law. The law requires LIPA to undergo periodic audits of internal policies and procedures to improve efficiency and transparency. The LIPA Board will be required to publicly present the findings and recommendations of the audit, allowing LIPA's decisions to be held to a more rigorous standard than those that currently exists for any other utility in the state.

The New York State Senate passed legislation for the largest expansion of the state’s DNA databank since it was created in 1994. The legislation mirrors the databank expansion plan proposed by Governor Cuomo in his Executive Budget to require people convicted of all felonies, as well as all misdemeanors in the penal law to submit DNA samples.

Senators Jack M. Martins and Lee Zeldin (R, C, I- Shirley) have introduced a bill (S-6206) to exempt all counties, towns and villages from having to pay the MTA Payroll Tax. Senators Martins and Zeldin, since taking office last January, have been committed to eliminating the payroll tax that was enacted in 2009. The Senators are introducing the bill as a way to provide tax relief to municipalities that are still forced to pay the .34 percent tax per $100 of payroll to pay the MTA.

Senator Jack M. Martins along with colleagues, Senator Dean Skelos and Senator John Flanagan, met with school superintendents in Albany to discuss important issues affecting school districts. The school leaders that made the trip to Albany included Mineola School Superintendent Dr. Michael Nagler, Great Neck School Superintendent Dr. Tom Dolan and Franklin Square School Superintendent Patrick Manley.

State Senator Jack M. Martins and the OKKK Karate School in Elmont hosted a Karate Tournament exposition at the Dutch Broadway School this past weekend. Well over 1,000 competitors, fans and families came through the tournament to watch competitors demonstrate kata, kobudo and kumite in the martial arts. Sensei Serge Clark and Senator Martins teamed together to put on the day which hosted over 270 competitors in medal winning action.

State Senator Jack M. Martins hosted his Dr. Martin Luther King Awards for Elmont youth this past week in a standing room only ceremony at the First Church of God in Elmont. The awards presentation highlighted area youth from Elmont and North Valley Stream for their leadership, commitment to social justice, volunteerism, scholarship and community service. The awards presentation hosted nearly two hundred members of the community made up of family and friends of the honorees.

If you’ll indulge me, I’d ask you to imagine a very complex flow chart, one with a jumble of miniscule numbers and overlapping arrows pointing in every direction that are nearly impossible to decipher. That’s what government bureaucracies tend to create. But in my years of public service, I happen to have gotten pretty good at analyzing these labyrinths, tracing their complexities back to their respective centers. What’s more, I can now almost always predict what you’ll find there: an overburdened taxpayer that doesn’t know what hit him.

Senator Jack M. Martins and his Senate colleagues from Long Island toured the new Life Sciences Building at Nassau Community College.

The “U-shaped" Life Sciences building features laboratories, classrooms, faculty offices, conference spaces, computer labs and group study spaces. The interior of the U contains an open-air courtyard. The new Life Sciences building will set the standard for all future new construction and renovation on campus.